Method and system for problem notification and processing

ABSTRACT

A notification of a problem associated with an application may be received. A difference may be determined between a problem version of the application and an operational version of the application to identify a change associated with the problem. A person associated with the change may be determined. A task of resolving the problem may be assigned to the person associated with the change. A person may be notified of the problem and of the assigning of the task based on the identified change. A modification may be performed to resolve the problem associated with the change based on the determining of the difference.

BACKGROUND

Problems may occur with the operation of an application for a variety ofreasons. Typically, a developer or other person will search manuallythrough logs of the application in an attempt to identify a cause of theproblem.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitationthe figures of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system, according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example analyzer that may be deployedwithin the system of FIG. 1 according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example continuous materializeddifferentiator that may be deployed within the system of FIG. 1according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example interfacing application that maybe deployed within the system of FIG. 1 according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example versioning application that maybe deployed within the system of FIG. 1 according to an exampleembodiment;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for notifying according toan example embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a differenceaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a method for accessing a sequenceaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method for identifying a method ofa sequence according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for obtaining a differenceaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method fir determining a filedifference according to an example embodiment;

FIGS. 12-14 are flowcharts illustrating a method for determining adifference according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a method for modifying according toan example embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a personaccording to an example embodiment;

FIGS. 17-19 are flowcharts illustrating methods for modifying accordingto an example embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a methoddifference according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a method for modifying according toan example embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a method for difference providingaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a method for user interactingaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 24A is a flowchart illustrating a method for identificationproviding according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 24B is a flowchart illustrating a method for storing a stack traceaccording to an example embodiment;

FIG. 25 is a network diagram depicting a network system, according toone embodiment, having a client server architecture configured forexchanging data over a network;

FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating an example embodiment ofmultiple network and marketplace applications, which are provided aspart of the network-based marketplace; and

FIG. 27 is a block diagram diagrammatic representation of machine in theexample form of a computer system within which a set of instructions forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein may be executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example methods and systems for problem notification and processing aredescribed. In the following description, for purposes of explanation,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example embodiments. It will be evident, however, toone skilled in the art that the present invention may be practicedwithout these specific details.

In an example embodiment, notification of a problem associated with anapplication may be received. A difference between a problem version ofthe application and an operational version of the application may bedetermined to identify a change associated with the problem. A personassociated with the change may be determined. A task of resolving theproblem may be assigned to the person associated with the change. Theperson may be notified of the problem and of the assignment of the taskbased on the identified change.

In an example embodiment, notification of a problem associated with anapplication may be received. A difference between a problem version ofthe application and an operational version of the application may bedetermined to identify a change associated with the problem. Amodification may be performed to resolve the problem associated with thechange based on the determination of the difference.

in an example embodiment, a plurality of differences between a currentversion of an application and a prior version of the application may bedetermined. The plurality of differences may be stored. A request for adifference may be received. The requested difference may be accessedfrom the plurality of the materialized differences. The requesteddifference may be provided in response to the receiving of the request.

In an example embodiment, a difference request may be received through auser interface. An application associated with the difference requestmay be accessed. The application may include an output on the userinterface from which the difference request was received. A differenceassociated with a current version of the application and a previousversion of the application may be determined. The difference may beprovided for presentation.

In an example embodiment, a request for a requested person associatedwith a version identifier of an application may be received. A pluralityof persons associated with the version identifier may be accessed. Therequested person may be identified from the plurality of persons basedon a selection criterion. Identification of the requested person may beprovided.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example system 100 in which a client machine 102may communicate with a server 106 through a network 104 to be providedwith functionality from an application 110. An analyzer 108 may receivea notification regarding the application 110 and may notify a personregarding the problem and/or automatically resolve the problem. Anexample embodiment of the analyzer 108 is described in greater detailbelow.

The client machine 102 may be a computing system, mobile phone, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a gaming unit, a portable computingunit, and the like. The network 104 may be a Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM) network, an Internet Protocol (IP) network, aWireless Application Protocol (WAP) network, a WiFi network, or an IEEE802.11 standards network as well as various combinations thereof. Otherconventional and/or later developed wired and wireless networks may alsobe used.

The application 110 may provide requested functionality to a useroperating the client machine 102. The application 110 may include, byway of example, a billing application, a payment application, a listingapplication, a shipping application, and the like. Other types ofapplications may also be used. The application 110 may be written inJAVA programming language, C++ programming language, or otherwisewritten.

Instrumentation 112 may be used to log operations of the application110. The resulting data may be used to determine a sequence of methodscalled by the application 110.

A versioning application 114 may track various versions of theapplication 110. For example, as an updated version of the application110 is provided to the server 106, the versioning application 114 maytrack the update. The code of the application 110 may include a versionidentifier that may be used to distinguish one version of theapplication 110 from another.

A continuous materialized differentiator 116 may determine and storedifferences (e.g., changes to a method) of the application 110 asmaterialized differences 122 in a database 120. The materializeddifferences 122 may be stored with a time stamp. The materializeddifferences 122 may be stored based on a version identifier of theapplication 110. An interfacing application 118 may receive a requestfor a difference (e.g., through a user interface on the client machine102) and provide the requested difference in response.

The analyzer 108, the application 110, the instrumentation 112, theversioning application 114, the continuous method differentiator 116,and the interfacing application 118 may all operate on a single server106, on different servers 106, a number of servers 106, or be otherwisedeployed.

FIG. 2 is an example of an analyzer 108 that may be deployed in thesystem 100 (see FIG. 1) or another system according to an exampleembodiment.

The analyzer 108 may include a performance determination module 202, anotification receiver module 204, a difference determination module 206,a sequence access module 208, a method identification module 210, asequence comparison module 212, a stack trace module 214, a problemreproduction module 216, a sequence capture module 218, a value accessmodule 220, a value comparison module 222, a code access module 224, acompare module 226, a materialized difference module 228, aenvironmental access module 230, an environment comparison module 232, aperson determination module 234, a task assignment module 236, anotification provider module 238, a priority association module 240, arolling module 242, a class receiver module 244, a swapping module 246,a versioning module 248, a call tree module 250, an applicationmodification module 252, a code identifier module 254, a verificationmodule 256, and/or an environment modification module 258. Other modulesmay also be used.

The performance determination module 202 determines a performancedifference between the problem version of the application 110 and theoperational version of the application 110.

The notification receiver module 204 receives notification of a problemassociated with an application 110. The notification may be an alert ora different type of notification. The problem may be a performanceproblem with the application 110, a detect problem with the application110, a feature failure, an error rate of the application 110 is toohigh, or the like. The problem associated with the application 110 maybe based on a determination of a performance difference.

The difference determination module 206 determines a difference betweena problem version of the application 110 and an operational version ofthe application 110 to identify a change (e.g., an identified change)associated with the problem. The difference may be a file difference, amethod difference, mud/or a class difference between a method of theproblem version of the application and the operational version of theapplication. The difference may be an environmental difference betweenthe current version of the application and the previous version of theapplication.

The difference determination module 206 may determine the differenceassociated with a modified version of the application 110 and theoperational version of the application 110 to identify an additionalchange associated with the problem.

The difference determination module 206 may obtain a difference betweena method of the problem version of the application 110 and theoperational version of the application 110.

The sequence access module 208 accesses a sequence of methods associatedwith the problem from the problem version of the application 110 and/orfrom a corresponding operation of the operational version of theapplication 110.

The method identification module 210 identifies a method of the sequenceof methods that has been changed between the operational version of theapplication 110 to the problem version of the application 110.

The sequence comparison module 212 compares the sequence of methodsassociated the problem version and the operational version of theapplication 110 to determine the change in a flow of the sequence ofmethods.

The stack trace module 214 accesses (e.g., from an alert or a logcreated by the instrumentation 112) a portion of a stack traceassociated with the problem of the application 110. The stack trace mayinclude the sequence of methods. The problem reproduction module 216reproduces the problem associated with the application 110. The sequencecapture module 218 captures the sequence of the methods of theapplication 110 during reproduction of the problem.

The value access module 220 accesses a data value of an accessed methodof the sequence of methods of the problem version and the operationalversion of the application 110. The data value may include, by way ofexample, a parameter, a local variable, a global variable, a methodvariable, a class variable, an instant variable, or a return value(e.g., from a method). Other data values may also be used. The valuecomparison module 222 compares a data value of the accessed method ofthe operational version of the application 110 to the problem version ofthe application 110 to identify a method of the sequence of methods thathas been changed.

The code access module 224 accesses code of the problem version of theapplication 110 and the operational version of the application 110. Thecompare module 226 performs a compare on the code of the problem versionof the application 110 and the code of the operational version of theapplication 110 to obtain a result (e.g., an identified change). Thecode may be source code, compiled code, bytecode, or a different type ofcode.

The materialized difference module 228 accesses a materialized filedifference (e.g., an identified change) between the method of theproblem version of the application 110 and the operational version ofthe application 110 from the materialized differences 122. Thematerialized difference may be a materialized file difference, amaterialized method difference, materialized class difference, and/or aconfiguration difference. Other materialized differences may also beaccessed.

The environmental access module 230 accesses an environment (e.g., aconfiguration) associated with the problem version of the application110 and the environment associated with the operational version of theapplication 110.

The environment comparison module 232 compares the environmentattributes associated the problem version and the operational version ofthe application 110 to determine an environmental change (e.g., anidentified change).

The person determination module 234 determines a person associated withthe change. The task assignment module 236 assigns a task of resolvingthe problem to a person associated with the change.

The notification provider module 238 notifies a person of the problemand/or of the assignment of the task based on the identified change. Thenotification may include a method difference, a file difference, a classdifference, configuration difference, or combinations thereof; notifiesa person associated with the change of the modification. Thenotification of the problem may include the alert. The alert may includea link to the stack trace. The notification may include a priority forresolution. The notification may include an indication of the rollingback of the application.

The priority association module 240 associates a priority for resolutionof the problem. The rolling module 242 rolls back the application 110from the problem version to the operational version. The roll back maybe based on the priority for resolution.

The class receiver module 244 receives an updated class for the problemversion of the application 110. The swapping module 246 hot swaps theupdated class into the problem version of the application 110. The hotswapping may include providing the updated class into the problemversion of the application 110 while the application 110 is stillrunning.

The versioning module 248 updates the versioning application 114 basedon the hot swapping of the updated class, tests an updated version ofthe application 110 to determine whether the updated version includesthe existing problem and/or a new problem, accesses aversion identifierassociated with the problem version of the application 110; provides aperson request to a versioning application 114, and/or receivesidentification of the person from the versioning application 114. Theperson request may include a method that has been changed by the person.

The call tree module 250 accesses a call tree for the problem associatedwith the application 110. The call tree may indicate an additionalmethod called by a method of the sequence of methods. The call tree maybe used to determine an additional person along with the original personfor notification.

The application modification module 252 performs a modification toresolve the problem associated with the change based on the determiningof the difference, performs the modification on the problem version ofthe application 110 to create a modified version of the application 110,and/or performs an additional modification on the modified version ofthe application 110 to resolve the problem associated with the change.

The code identifier module 254 accesses a code identifier for a methodof the sequence of methods and identifies methods for the determining ofthe difference based on use of the code identifier.

The verification module 256 compares an output from the modified versionof the application 110 with the operational version of the application110 to confirm that the problem associated with the change is notpresent in the modified version.

The environment modification module 258 modifies an environment of amachine (e.g., the server 106, a machine on which the server 106 isrunning, or an application running on the server 106) operating theproblem version of the application 110 and/or the problem version of theapplication 110 to resolve the problem associated with the change.

FIG. 3 is an example of a continuous materialized differentiator 116that may be deployed in the system 100 (see FIG. 1) or another systemaccording to an example embodiment.

The continuous materialized differentiator 116 may include a changedetection module 302, difference determination module 304, a storagemodule 306, a request receiver module 308, a difference access module310, and/or a difference provider module 311. Other modules may also beused.

The change detection module 302 detects a change associated with theapplication 110. The difference determination module 304 determinesdifferences between a current version of an application 110 and a priorversion of the application 110. The storage module 306 stores thedifferences as materialized differences 122 in the database 120 and/orin other storage. For example, the other storage may be memory in whichthe materialized differences 122 are indexed or otherwise retained.

The request receiver module 308 receives a request for a requesteddifference. The difference access module 310 accesses the requesteddifference from the materialized differences 122. The differenceprovider module 312 provides the requested difference in response to thereceiving of the request.

FIG. 4 is an example of an interfacing application 118 that may bedeployed in the system 100 (see FIG. 1) or another system according toan example embodiment.

The interfacing application 118 may include a difference receiver module402, an application access module 404, a difference determination module406, a change application module 408 and/or a difference provider module410. Other modules may also be used.

The difference receiver module 402 receives a difference request througha user interface (e.g., of the client machine 102).

The application access module 404 accesses the application 110associated with the difference request. The application 110 may includean output on the user interface from which the difference request wasreceived.

The difference determination module 406 determines a differenceassociated with a current version of the application 110 and a previousversion of the application 110. The change application module 408applies the change to the current version of the application 110. Thedifference provider module 410 provides the difference for presentation.

FIG. 5 is an example of a versioning application 114 that may bedeployed in the system 100 (see FIG. 1) or another system according toan example embodiment.

The versioning application 114 may include a request receiver module502, a person access module 504, a person identifier module 506, aidentifier provider module 508, a tracking module 510, a history module512, and/or a comparison module 514. Other modules may also be included.

The request receiver module 502 receives a request for a requestedperson associated with a version identifier of the application 110. Theperson access module 504 accesses persons associated with the versionidentifier.

The person identifier module 506 identifies the requested person fromthe persons based on a selection criterion. The selection criterion mayinclude, by way of example, a greatest number of changes to theapplication, a greatest knowledge of the application, association with alast method change in a sequence of methods, association with a firstmethod change in the sequence of methods, association with a methodchange in the sequence of methods occurring before detection of theexception, and/or a manual examination of the change. Other selectioncriteria may also be used.

The identifier provider module 508 provides identification of therequested person.

The tacking module 510 tracks changes to the application 110. Thehistory module 512 access history of the changes to the application 110.The comparison module 514 compares versions of the application 110and/or application components (e.g., modules of the application 110).

FIG. 6 illustrates a method 600 for notifying according to an exampleembodiment. The method 600 may be performed by the analyzer 108 (seeFIG. 1) or another application in the system 100 or another system.

Notification of a problem associated with the application 110 isreceived at block 602. The notification may be an alert for the problemassociated with the application 110. The alert may be received or anexception for the application 110 may be received and an alert for theexception may be generated. The alert may include a new exception alert,a rater alert or a different type of alert.

The problem may be a performance problem with the application 110, adefect problem with the application 110, a feature failure, an errorrate of the application 110 is too high, and the like.

In an example embodiment, the problem associated with the application110 may be based on a determination of a performance difference. Forexample, a performance difference between the problem version of theapplication 110 and the operational version of the application 110 maybe determined.

In an example embodiment, the problem version of the application 110 maybe a current version of the application and the operational version ofthe application may be a previous version of the application 110.

In an example embodiment, the problem version of the application 110 maybe the current version of the application 110 running on a first machineand the operational version of the application 110 may be the currentversion of the application running 110 on a second machine.

At block 604, a difference between a problem version of the application110 and an operational version of the application 110 is determined toidentify a change associated with the problem. The change may include amethod change, a database change, an environmental change, or the like.By way of an example, the environmental change may include altering atmemory, a number of machines, an amount of memory used, a firewall,adding a new machine, or combinations thereof. The difference may be, byway of example, an environmental difference, a database difference, aclass difference, a flow difference, or the like.

A person associated with the change is determined at block 606.

At block 608, a task of resolving the problem is assigned to the personassociated with the change.

At block 610, the person is notified of the problem and of the assigningof the task based on the identified change. The notifying of the personmay include notification of a method difference, a file difference, aclass difference, an environmental difference, or the like. The personmay be a developer, an administrator or other type of person.

A modification may be performed at block 612 to resolve the problemassociated with the change. The modification may be provided by a personor otherwise provided.

At block 614, the versioning application 114 may be updated based on thehot swapping of the updated class.

At block 616, an updated version of the application 110 may be tested todetermine whether the updated version includes an existing problemand/or a new problem. The updated version of the application 110 mayinclude the problem version of the application 110 with the updatedversion of the class.

In an example embodiment, a call tree for the problem associated withthe application 110 may be accessed. The call tree may indicate anadditional method called by a method of the sequence of methods. Thedetermining of the person may include a person associated with thechange and an additional person associated with the additional method.The additional person may then be notified with the original person.

FIG. 7 illustrates a method 700 for determining a difference accordingto an example embodiment. The method 700 may be performed at block 604(see FIG. 6) or otherwise performed.

A sequence of methods associated with the problem from the problemversion of the application 110 is accessed at block 702.

At block 704, a method of the sequence of methods that has been changedbetween the operational version of the application 110 and the problemversion of the application 110 is identified.

A difference between the method of the problem version of theapplication and the operational version of the application is obtainedat block 706. The identified change of the operations at block 706 maybe the difference.

In an example embodiment, the difference may be obtained by accessing astored file difference, a stored method difference, and/or a storedclass difference between a method of the problem version of theapplication 110 and the operational version of the application 110 fromthe materialized differences 122. The accessed stored difference may bean identified change of the application 110.

FIG. 8 illustrates a method 800 for accessing a sequence according to anexample embodiment. The method 800 may be performed at block 702 (seeFIG. 7) or otherwise performed.

At decision block 802, a determination may be made as to whether a stacktrace is accessible. If a determination is made that the stack trace isaccessible, a portion of a stack trace associated with the problem ofthe application 110 may be accessed (e.g., from an alert or a log file)at block 804. The stack trace may include the sequence of methods. Eachmethod in the sequence of methods may include a file name (e.g., toidentify a location of the code) and a line number.

If a determination is made at decision block 802 that the stack trace isnot accessible, the problem associated with the application 110 may bereproduced at block 806. At block 808, the sequence of the methods ofthe application 110 may then be captured during the reproduction of theproblem.

In an example embodiment, the operations performed at block 806 andblock 808 may be when a user has notified an operator of the problem butthat the stack trace is inaccessible.

FIG. 9 illustrates a method 900 for identifying a method of a sequenceaccording to an example embodiment. The method 900 may be performed atblock 704 (see FIG. 7) or otherwise performed.

At block 902, a data value of an accessed method of the sequence ofmethods of the problem version and the operational version of theapplication 110 is accessed. The data value may include, by way ofexample, a parameter, a local variable, a global variable, a methodvariable, a return value (e.g., from a method), a class variable, and/oran instant variable. Other data values may also be used.

At block 904, the data value of the accessed method of the operationalversion is compared to the problem version to identify a method of thesequence of methods that has been changed.

FIG. 10 illustrates a method 1000 for obtaining a difference to anexample embodiment. The method 1000 may be performed at block 706 (seeFIG. 7) or otherwise performed. The method 1000 may be used to make asingle type of difference and/or multiple differences. For example,determinations may be made during the method 1000 based on a selectedtype of difference.

A determination may be made at decision block 1002 whether to determinea file difference. If a determination is made to determine the filedifference, a file difference between a file of the problem version ofthe application 110 and the operational version of the application maybe determined at block 1004. If a determination is made at decisionblock 1002 not to determine the file difference or upon completion ofthe operations at block 1004, the method 1000 may proceed to decisionblock 1006.

At decision block 1006, a determination may be made whether to determinea class difference. If a determination is made to determine the classdifference, a class difference between the method of the problem versionof the application and the operational version of the application may bedetermined at block 1008. If a determination is made at decision block1006 not to determine the class difference or upon completion of theoperations at block 1008, the method 1000 may proceed to decision block1010.

A determination may be made at decision block 1010 whether to determinea method difference. If a determination is made to determine the methoddifference, a method difference between the method of the problemversion of the application 110 and the operational version of theapplication 110 may be determined at block 1012. If a determination ismade at decision block 1010 not to determine the method difference orupon completion of the operations at block 1012, the method 1000 mayproceed to decision block 1014.

At decision block 1014, a determination may be made whether to determinean environmental difference. If a determination is made to determine theenvironmental difference, an environmental difference between thecurrent version of the application 110 and the previous version of theapplication 110 may be determined at block 1016. If a determination ismade at decision block 1014 not to determine the environmentaldifference or upon completion of the operations at block 1004, themethod 1000 may terminate.

In an example embodiment, the method 1000 may be performed to firstdetermine whether a change has occurred with a file (e.g., containingthe code for the application 110). When a change is determined to haveoccurred, the method 1000 may then seek to identify one or more classesin the file that have been changed. For the classes that have changed,the method 1000 may then seek to identify one or more methods in the oneor more classes that have changed.

In an example embodiment, the operations performed at decision blocks1002, 1006, 1010, 1014 may occur in any order.

FIG. 11 illustrates a method 1100 for determining a file differenceaccording to an example embodiment. The method 1100 may be performed atblock 1012 (see FIG. 10) or otherwise performed.

Code of the problem version of the application 110 and the operationalversion of the application 110 is accessed at block 1102. The code maybe source code, compiled code, bytecode, and the like.

At block 1104, a compare is performed on the accessed code of theproblem version of the application 110 and the accessed code of theoperational version of the application 110 to obtain a result (e.g., anidentified change). The compare may be a text compare, a binary compare,or a different type of compare.

FIG. 12 illustrates a method 1200 for determining a difference accordingto an example embodiment. The method 1200 may be performed at block 604(see FIG. 6) or otherwise performed.

At block 1202, a sequence of methods associated with the problem isaccessed from the problem version of the application 110 and from acorresponding operation of the operational version of the application110.

At block 1204, the sequence of methods associated the problem version iscompared to the operational version to determine the change in a flow ofthe sequence of methods (e.g., the identified change).

FIG. 13 illustrates a method 1300 for determining a difference accordingto an example embodiment. The method 1300 may be performed at block 604(see FIG. 6) or otherwise performed.

At block 1302, one or more data values of a sequence of methodsassociated with the problem is accessed from the problem version of theapplication 110 and from a corresponding portion of the operationalversion of the application 110. The data values may have been capturedby the instrumentation 112 (see FIG. 1) or otherwise accessed.

At block 1304, the accessed data values of the problem version arecompared to the accessed data values of the operational version todetermine the change in data values (e.g., the identified change).

FIG. 14 illustrates a method 1400 for determining a difference accordingto an example embodiment. The method 1400 may be performed at block 604(see FIG. 6) or otherwise performed.

At block 1402, an environment associated with the problem version of theapplication 110 and the environment associated with the operationalversion of the application 110 is accessed.

At block 1404, a number of environment attributes associated with theproblem version is compared to the number of environment attributesassociated with the operational version to determine an environmentalchange (e.g., an identified change).

FIG. 15 illustrates a method 1500 for modifying according to an exampleembodiment. The method 1500 may be performed at block 612 or otherwiseperformed.

A priority for resolution of the problem is associated at block 1502.The notifying of the person during the operations at block 610 (see FIG.6) may include the priority for resolution.

The operational version of the application 110 may be applied at block1502. For example, the application 110 may be rolled back or rolledforward from the problem version to the operational version at block1502. In an example embodiment, the rolling back or rolling forward maybe based on the priority for resolution. The notification provided tothe user may include an indication of the rolling back or rollingforward of the application 110.

FIG. 16 illustrates a method 1600 for determining a person according toan example embodiment. The method 1600 may be performed at block 606(see FIG. 6) or otherwise performed.

A version identifier associated with the problem version of theapplication 110 is accessed at block 1602.

A person request is provided to the versioning application 114 at block1604. The person request may include the version identifier and/or amethod that has been changed by the person.

At block 1606, identification of the person may be received from theversioning application 114.

FIG. 17 illustrates a method 1700 for modifying according to an exampleembodiment. The method 1700 may be performed at block 612 (see FIG. 6)or otherwise performed.

An updated class of the application 110 is received for a problemversion of the application 110 at block 1702.

A version of the application is updated at block 1704. For example, theupdated class may be hot swapped into the problem version of theapplication 110 at block 1704.

FIG. 18 illustrates a method 1800 for modifying according to an exampleembodiment. The method 1800 may be performed at block 612 (see FIG. 6)or otherwise performed.

A redeploy is performed on the class of the application 110 and/or theapplication 110 at block 1802. The application 110 is then restarted atblock 1804.

FIG. 19 illustrates a method 1900 for modifying according to an exampleembodiment. The method 1900 may be performed by the analyzer 108 (seeFIG. 1) or another application in the system 100 or another system.

Notification of a problem associated with the application 110 isreceived at block 1902. The operations performed at block 1902 mayinclude the operations performed at block 602 (see FIG. 6).

At block 1904, a difference between a problem version of the application110 and an operational version of the application 110 is determined toidentify a change associated with the problem. The operations performedat block 1904 may include the operations performed at block 604 (seeFIG. 6).

A modification is performed to resolve the problem associated with thechange based on the determining of the difference at block 1906. Forexample, the modification may include modifying an environment of amachine operating the problem version of the application 110 to resolvethe problem associated with the change.

A person associated with the change may be notified of the modificationat block 1908.

The versioning application 114 may be updated based on the performing ofthe modification at block 1910.

FIG. 20 illustrates a method 2000 for determining a method differenceaccording to an example embodiment. The method 2000 may be performed atblock 702 (see FIG. 7) or otherwise performed.

A code identifier is accessed for a method of the sequence of methods atblock 2002. The code identifier may include a name of a method,parameter types associated with the method, and a return value of themethod. The code identifier may be in the header of the method. Othertypes of code identifiers may also be used.

At block 2004, a number of methods are identified for the determining ofthe difference based on use of the code identifier.

FIG. 21 illustrates a method 2100 for modifying according to an exampleembodiment. The method 2100 may be performed at block 1906 (see FIG. 19)or otherwise performed.

An updated class is received for the problem version of the applicationat block 2102. The updated class may be hot swapped into the problemversion of the application 110 at block 2104 to create an updatedversion of the application 110. At block 2106, the updated version ofthe application 110 may be tested to determine whether the updatedversion is fixed, includes an existing problem and/or created a newproblem.

FIG. 22 illustrates a method 2200 for difference providing according toan example embodiment. The method 2200 may be performed by thecontinuous materialized differentiator 116 (see FIG. 1) or anotherapplication in the system 100 or another system.

A change associated with the application 110 is detected at block 2202.

A number of differences between a current version of the application 110and a prior version of the application 110 associated with the changeare determined at block 2204. The differences may include, by way ofexample, a method difference, a file difference, an environmentaldifference, a database difference, a network difference, or an operatingsystem difference. Other differences may also be determined.

The differences are stored in the database 120 as materializeddifferences 122 at block 2206. The differences may be stored with a codeidentifier and/or a version identifier.

A request for a difference is received at block 2208.

At block 2210, the requested difference is accessed from thematerialized differences 122.

The requested difference is provided in response to the receiving of therequest at block 2212.

FIG. 23 illustrates a method 2300 for user interaction according to anexample embodiment. The method 2300 may be performed by the interfacingapplication 118 (see FIG. 11) or another application in the system 100or another system.

A difference request is received through a user interface (e.g., of theclient machine 102) at block 2302.

The application 110 associated with the difference request is accessedat block 2304. The application 110 may include an output on the userinterface from which the difference request was received.

A difference associated with a current version of the application 110and a previous version of the application 110 is determined at block2306.

The change may be applied to the current version of the application 110at block 2308. The change may be applied, by way of example, by rollingthe application back or rolling the application forward.

The difference may be provided for presentation at block 2310. Thedifference may be provided back to the user interface, to a personassociated with the application 110 (e.g., an administrator), orotherwise provided.

FIG. 24A illustrates a method 2400 for identification providingaccording to an example embodiment. The method 2400 may be performed bythe versioning application 114 (see FIG. 1) or another application inthe system 100 or another system.

At block 2402, a request for a requested person associated with aversion identifier of an application is received.

A number of persons associated with the version identifier are accessedat block 2404.

The requested person is identified from the persons based on a selectioncriterion at block 2406. The selection criterion may include, by way ofexample, a greatest number of changes to the application, a greatestknowledge of the application, association with a last method change in asequence of methods, association with a first method change in thesequence of methods, association with a method change in the sequence ofmethods occurring before detection of the exception, and/or a manualexamination of the change. Other selection criteria may also be used.

Identification of the requested person is provided at block 2408.

FIG. 24B illustrates a method 2450 for storing a stack trace accordingto an example embodiment. The method 2450 may be performed by theanalyzer 108 (see FIG. 1) or otherwise performed.

An application request for the application 110 may be received at block2452.

The application request may be processed by the application 110 at block2454.

An operation identifier may be assigned with the processing of theapplication request at block 2456. The operation identifier may becapable of identifying a portion of the stack trace associated with theprocessing of the application request.

The operation identifier may be grouped with a number of additionalidentifiers at block 2458. The additional identifiers may be associatedwith one or more additional applications. The additional applicationsmay be associated with the application request. For example, during theoperations of a listing application operations may also occur with abilling application.

The portion of the stack trace may be stored with the operationidentifier at block 2460. The portion of the stack trace may be capableof being retrieved using the operation identifier.

The operation identifier may be accessed at block 2462. For example, theoperation identifier may be receiving from a user interface and/orthrough the sending of the operation identifier from the application 110to the user interface in response to a user request. The operationidentifier may be accessed in other ways.

The portion of the stack trace may be accessed using the operationidentifier at block 2464.

FIG. 25 is a network diagram depicting a client-server system 2500,within which one example embodiment may be deployed. By way of example,a network 2504 may include the functionality of the network 104, theservers 106 may be deployed within an application server 2518, theclient machine 102 may include the functionality of a client machine2510 or a client machine 2512, and a database 2526 may include thefunctionality of the database 120. The system 100 may also be deployedin other systems.

A networked system 2502, in the example forms of a network-basedmarketplace or publication system, provides server-side functionality,via a network 2504 (e.g., the Internet or Wide Area Network (WAN)) toone or more clients. FIG. 25 illustrates, for example, a web client 2506(e.g., a browser, such as the Internet Explorer browser developed byMicrosoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash. State), and a programmaticclient 2508 executing on respective client machines 2510 and 2512.

An Application Program Interface (API) server 2514 and a web server 2516are coupled to, and provide programmatic and web interfaces respectivelyto, one or more application servers 2518. The application servers 2518host one or more marketplace applications 2520 and authenticationproviders 2522. The application servers 2518 are, in turn, shown to becoupled to one or more databases servers 2524 that facilitate access toone or more databases 2526.

The marketplace applications 2520 may provide a number of marketplacefunctions and services to users that access the networked system 2502.The authentication providers 2522 may likewise provide a number ofpayment services and functions to users. The authentication providers2522 may allow users to accumulate value (e.g., in a commercialcurrency, such as the U.S. dollar, or a proprietary currency, such as“points”) in accounts, and then later to redeem the accumulated valuefor products (e.g., goods or services) that are made available via themarketplace applications 2520. While the marketplace and authenticationproviders 2520 and 2522 are shown in FIG. 25 to both form part of thenetworked system 2502, in alternative embodiments the authenticationproviders 2522 may form part of a payment service that is separate anddistinct from the networked system 2502.

Further, while the system 2500 shown in FIG. 25 employs a client-serverarchitecture, the present invention is of course not limited to such anarchitecture, and could equally well find application in a distributed,or peer-to-peer, architecture system, for example. The variousmarketplace and authentication providers 2520 and 2522 could also beimplemented as standalone software programs, which need not havenetworking capabilities.

The web client 2506 accesses the various marketplace and authenticationproviders 2520 and 2522 via the web interface supported by the webserver 2516. Similarly, the programmatic client 2508 accesses thevarious services and functions provided by the marketplace andauthentication providers 2520 and 2522 via the programmatic interfaceprovided by the API server 2514. The programmatic client 2508 may, forexample, be a seller application (e.g., the TurboLister™ applicationdeveloped by eBay Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) to enable sellers to authorand manage listings on the networked system 2502 in an off-line manner,and to perform batch-mode communications between the programmatic client2508 and the networked system 2502.

FIG. 25 also illustrates a third party application 2528, executing on athird party server machine 2260, as having programmatic access to thenetworked system 2502 via the programmatic interface provided by the APIserver 2514. For example, the third party application 2528 may,utilizing information retrieved from the networked system 2502, supportone or more features or functions on a website hosted by the thirdparty. The third party may, for example, provide one or morepromotional, marketplace or payment functions that are supported by therelevant applications of the networked system 2502.

FIG. 26 is a block diagram illustrating multiple applications 2520 and2522 that, in one example embodiment, are provided as part of thenetworked system 2502 (see FIG. 25). The applications 2520 may be hostedon dedicated or shared server machines (not shown) that arecommunicatively coupled to enable communications between servermachines. The applications themselves are communicatively coupled (e.g.,via appropriate interfaces) to each other and to various data sources,so as to allow information to be passed between the applications or soas to allow the applications to share and access common data. Theapplications may furthermore access one or more databases 2526 via thedatabase servers 2524.

The networked system 2502 may provide a number of publishing, listingand price-setting mechanisms whereby a seller may list (or publishinformation concerning) goods or services for sale, a buyer can expressinterest in or indicate a desire to purchase such goods or services, anda price can be set for a transaction pertaining to the goods orservices. To this end, the marketplace applications 2520 are shown toinclude at least one publication application 2600 and one or moreauction applications 2602 which support auction-format listing and pricesetting mechanisms (e.g., English, Dutch, Vickrey, Chinese, Double,Reverse auctions etc.). The various auction applications 2602 may alsoprovide a number of features in support of such auction-format listings,such as a reserve price feature whereby a seller may specify a reserveprice in connection with a listing and a proxy-bidding feature whereby abidder may invoke automated proxy bidding.

A number of fixed-price applications 2604 support fixed-price listingformats (e.g., the traditional classified advertisement-type listing ora catalogue listing) and buyout-type listings. Specifically, buyout-typelistings (e.g., including the Buy-It-Now (BIN) technology developed byeBay Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) may be offered in conjunction withauction-format listings, and allow a buyer to purchase goods orservices, which are also being offered for sale via an auction, for afixed-price that is typically higher than the starting price of theauction.

Store applications 2606 allow a seller to group listings within a“virtual” store, which may be branded and otherwise personalized by andfor the seller. Such a virtual store may also offer promotions,incentives and features that are specific and personalized to a relevantseller.

Reputation applications 2608 allow users that transact, utilizing thenetworked system 2502, to establish, build and maintain reputations,which may be made available and published to potential trading partners.Consider that where, for example, the networked system 2502 supportsperson-to-person trading, users may otherwise have no history or otherreference information whereby the trustworthiness and credibility ofpotential trading partners may be assessed. The reputation applications2608 allow a user, for example through feedback provided by othertransaction partners, to establish a reputation within the networkedsystem 2502 over time. Other potential trading partners may thenreference such a reputation for the purposes of assessing credibilityand trustworthiness.

Personalization applications 2610 allow users of the networked system2502 to personalize various aspects of their interactions with thenetworked system 2502. For example a user may, utilizing an appropriatepersonalization application 2610, create a personalized reference pageat which information regarding transactions to which the user is (or hasbeen) a party may be viewed. Further, a personalization application 2610may enable a user to personalize listings and other aspects of theirinteractions with the networked system 2502 and other parties.

The networked system 2502 may support a number of marketplaces that arecustomized, for example, for specific geographic regions. A version ofthe networked system 2502 may be customized for the United Kingdom,whereas another version of the networked system 2502 may be customizedthr the United States. Each of these versions may operate as anindependent marketplace, or may be customized (or internationalizedand/or localized) presentations of a common underlying marketplace. Thenetworked system 2502 may accordingly include a number ofinternationalization applications 2612 that customize information(and/or the presentation of information) by the networked system 2502according to predetermined criteria (e.g., geographic, demographic ormarketplace criteria). For example, the internationalizationapplications 2612 may be used to support the customization ofinformation for a number of regional websites that are operated by thenetworked system 2502 and that are accessible via respective web servers2516.

Navigation of the networked system 2502 may be facilitated by one ormore navigation applications 2614. For example, a search application (asan example of a navigation application) may enable key word searches oflistings published via the networked system 2502. A browse applicationmay allow users to browse various category, catalogue, or systeminventory structures according to which listings may be classifiedwithin the networked system 2502. Various other navigation applicationsmay be provided to supplement the search and browsing applications.

In order to make listings available via the networked system 2502 asvisually informing and attractive as possible, the marketplaceapplications 2520 may include one or more imaging applications 2616utilizing which users may upload images for inclusion within listings.An imaging application 2616 also operates to incorporate images withinviewed listings. The imaging applications 2616 may also support one ormore promotional features, such as image galleries that are presented topotential buyers. For example, setters may pay an additional fee to havean image included within a gallery of images for promoted items.

Listing creation applications 2618 allow sellers conveniently to authorlistings pertaining to goods or services that they wish to transact viathe networked system 2502, and listing management applications 2620allow sellers to manage such listings. Specifically, where a particularseller has authored and/or published a large number of listings, themanagement of such listings may present a challenge. The listingmanagement applications 2620 provide a number of features (e.g.,auto-relisting, inventory level monitors, etc.) to assist the seller inmanaging such listings. One or more post-listing management applications2622 also assist sellers with a number of activities that typicallyoccur post-listing. For example, upon completion of an auctionfacilitated by one or more auction applications 2602, a seller may wishto leave feedback regarding a particular buyer. To this end, apost-listing management application 2622 may provide an interface to oneor more reputation applications 2608, so as to allow the sellerconveniently to provide feedback regarding multiple buyers to thereputation applications 2608.

Dispute resolution applications 2624 provide mechanisms whereby disputesarising between transacting parties may be resolved. For example, thedispute resolution applications 2624 may provide guided procedureswhereby the parties are guided through a number of steps in an attemptto settle a dispute. In the event that the dispute cannot be settled viathe guided procedures, the dispute may be escalated to a merchantmediator or arbitrator.

A number of fraud prevention applications 2626 implement fraud detectionand prevention mechanisms to reduce the occurrence of fraud within thenetworked system 2502.

Messaging applications 2628 are responsible for the generation anddelivery of messages to users of the networked system 2502, suchmessages for example advising users regarding the status of listings atthe networked system 2502 (e.g., providing “outbid” notices to biddersduring an auction process or to provide promotional and merchandisinginformation to users). Respective messaging applications 2628 mayutilize any one have a number of message delivery networks and platformsto deliver messages to users. For example, messaging applications 2628may deliver electronic mail (e-mail), instant message (IM), ShortMessage Service (SMS), text, facsimile, or voice (e.g., Voice over(VoIP)) messages via the wired (e.g., the Internet), Plain Old TelephoneService (POTS), or wireless (e.g., mobile, WiFi, WiMAX) networks.

Merchandising applications 2630 support various merchandising functionsthat are made available to sellers to enable sellers to increase salesvia the networked system 2502. The merchandising applications 2630 alsooperate the various merchandising features that may be invoked bysellers, and may monitor and track the success of merchandisingstrategies employed by sellers.

The networked system 2502 itself, or one or more parties that transactvia the networked system 2502, may operate loyalty programs that aresupported by one or more loyalty/promotions applications 2632. Forexample, a buyer may earn loyalty or promotions points for eachtransaction established and/or concluded with a particular seller, andmay be offered a reward for which accumulated loyalty points can beredeemed.

The analyzer application 2634 may determine whether a problem hasoccurred in the network system 2502, notify a person regarding theproblem, and/or resolve the problem. The analyzer application 2634 mayinclude the functionality of the analyzer 108 (see FIG. 1).

The interfacing application 2636 receives a difference request andprovides a difference for presentation. The interfacing application 2266may include the functionality of the interfacing application 118 (seeFIG. 1).

The continuous materialized differentiator application 2268 maydetermine and stored the differences of the application 2600-2638 in thedatabase 120. The continuous materialized differentiator application2268 may include the functionality of the continuous materializeddifferentiator 116 (see FIG. 1).

The versioning application 2240 may track the versioning of theapplications 2600-2638. The versioning application 2640 may include thefunctionality of the versioning application 114 (see FIG. 1).

FIG. 27 shows a diagrammatic representation of machine in the exampleform of a computer system 2700 within which a set of instructions may beexecuted causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methods,processes, operations, or methodologies discussed herein. The servers106 may operate on or more computer systems 2700 and/or the clientmachine 102 may include the functionality of the computer system 2700.

In an example embodiment, the machine operates as a standalone device ormay be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient machine in server-client network environment, or as a peermachine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment. Themachine may be a server computer, a client computer, a personal computer(PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant(PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a network router, switchor bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions(sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by thatmachine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated, the term“machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines thatindividually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructionsto perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 2700 includes a processor 2702 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU) a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both),a main memory 2704 and a static memory 2706, which communicate with eachother via a bus 2708. The computer system 2700 may further include avideo display unit 2710 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or acathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system 2700 also includes analphanumeric input device 2712 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 2714 (e.g., a mouse), a drive unit 2716, a signal generationdevice 2718 (e.g., a speaker) and a network interface device 2720.

The drive unit 2716 includes a machine-readable medium 2722 on which isstored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 2724) embodyingany one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Thesoftware 2724 may also reside, completely or at least partially, withinthe main memory 2704 and/or within the processor 2702 during executionthereof by the computer system 2700, the main memory 2704 and theprocessor 2702 also constituting machine-readable media.

The software 2724 may further be transmitted or received over a network2726 via the network interface device 2720.

While the machine-readable medium 2722 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present invention. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories, optical and magnetic media, and carrier wavesignals.

Certain systems, apparatus, applications or processes are describedherein as including a number of modules or mechanisms. A module or amechanism may be a unit of distinct functionality that can provideinformation to, and receive information from, other modules.Accordingly, the described modules may be regarded as beingcommunicatively coupled. Modules may also initiate communication withinput or output devices, and can operate on a resource (e.g., acollection of information). The modules be implemented as hardwarecircuitry, optical components, single or multi-processor circuits,memory circuits, software program modules and objects, firmware, andcombinations thereof, as appropriate for particular implementations ofvarious embodiments.

Thus, methods and systems for problem notification and processing havebeen described. Although the present invention has been described withreference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident thatvarious modifications and changes may be made to these embodimentswithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in anillustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separate embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving notification of aproblem associated with an application; determining a difference betweena problem version of the application and an operational version of theapplication, to identify a change associated with the problem;determining a person associated with the change; assigning a task ofresolving the problem to the person associated with the change; andbased on the identified change, notifying the person of the problem andof the assigning of the task.